WATER

One of the most crucial of our needs, right after air and warmth. The standard rule of thumb is that we can only live three days without it.

Drinking it, that is. Wasting water is one of those acts that repulses me to the core, like kicking puppies and stealing from children.

So how do we deal when the supply runs short? Mostly by bickering. Same as with most problems.

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Schwarzenegger hopes drought decree is wake-up call

The northern Sierra Nevada, stronghold for much of the state's snowpack, experienced the driest spring in more than 70 years. The city of Sacramento saw the driest spring since record-keeping began in 1849.

The runoff forecast for Sierra Nevada snowmelt through September stands at 59 percent of average and may decline further. A new forecast is expected Friday.

The reason, said Elissa Lynn, Water Resources senior meteorologist, is that much of the available runoff this year was soaked up by soils already parched after last year's dry winter. A windy spring also caused some unexpected evaporation of snow.

"It certainly is a poor outlook," said Lynn. "You just can't have your season shut down like this on March 1. So this is extreme."

Worst-hit so far is the San Joaquin Valley, where Delta water deliveries already have been curtailed to protect the threatened Delta smelt. Valley farmers have lost some crops and soon may be forced to let others die.

California Water Law Curtailing New Development

Shawn Jenkins, a developer who had two projects caught up in the delays, said he was accustomed to piles of paperwork and reams of red tape in getting projects approved. But he was not prepared to have the water district hold up the projects he was planning. He changed the projects’ landscaping, to make it less water dependent, as the board pondered their fate.

“I think this is a warning for everyone,” Mr. Jenkins said.

Also in Riverside County, a superior court judge recently stopped a 1,500-home development project, citing, among others things, a failure to provide substantial evidence of adequate water supply.

In San Luis Obispo County, north of Los Angeles, the City of Pismo Beach was recently denied the right to annex unincorporated land to build a large multipurpose project because, “the city didn’t have enough water to adequately serve the development,” said Paul Hood, the executive officer of the commission that approves the annexations and incorporations of cities.

In agriculturally rich Kern County, north of Los Angeles, at least three developers scrapped plans recently to apply for permits, realizing water was going to be an issue. An official from the county’s planning department said the developers were the first ever in the county to be stymied by water concerns. Large-scale housing developments in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties have met a similar fate, officials in those counties said.

NC heat wave raises concerns about drought outlook

When you're continuing to have long-term rainfall deficits, that means groundwater supplies and reservoirs are vulnerable to dropping fairly rapidly," said Doug LeComte, a drought specialist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center. "So that certainly is a concern."

Parts of North Carolina still have yearlong rainfall deficits of about a foot.

Drought Spreads to South Georgia, Conditions May Worsen

Drought conditions have already spread into south-central and southwest Georgia. Much of southeast and coastal Georgia is now abnormally dry for early June.

After improvements in drought conditions across north Georgia during the cool season, conditions are expected to worsen over the next several months.

Summer routinely brings temperatures in the 90s. Georgians can expect hot, dry weather to cause very rapid soil moisture loss over the next week. This loss in soil moisture will also drop stream flows and groundwater levels.

Florida lawmakers mad about water

Angry Florida lawmakers vented their objection Thursday to an Army Corps of Engineers plan that could limit water flowing into the state, but a corps commander said the real answer is in a long-term regional water council.

The Army Corps recently allowed Georgia to keep more water in its reservoirs that would otherwise have flowed into North Florida's Apalachicola River and Bay.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said that could be big trouble for endangered species and other "critters" in the bay if droughts arrive. "Come September, if we have a drought, you're going to whack the amount of water coming South," Nelson complained at a meeting of the Florida congressional delegation. "The only voice the oysters have (is) us."

Brig. Gen. Joseph Schroedel, the corps' commander for the South Atlantic, said the controversial decision was "the best we can do with what mother nature is giving us."

Drought hits Okla Panhandle

Ranchers are selling cattle because they have nothing to eat and farmers are watching their crops fail while hoping for rain.

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And hey, it's not just here in the states, either:

Drought hit central China, 560,000 short of drinking water

TAIYUAN, June 5 (Xinhua) -- About 560,000 people in China's Shanxi Province have been short of drinking water due to drought since mid-May, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said Thursday.

Israeli Gov't Budgets 2 Billion NIS for Water Shortage

Following a particularly dry rainy season this past winter - rainfall was only 65% of the yearly average, and under 60% in some places - Israel's largest reservoir, the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is left at a dangerous low. It currently stands at 212.47 meters below sea level - 40 centimeters lower than eight weeks ago, and a full 1.3 meters lower than a year ago.

If the Kineret loses just 53 more centimeters of height, it will reach the dangerous red line, beyond which drawing water is not permitted.

Pakistan Water shortage goes from bad to worse

ISLAMABAD: The water shortage in the capital is going from bad to worse, particularly in G and I sectors. A Capital Development Authority (CDA) official told The Post on Friday that the civic agency had been receiving 6 to 8 hundreds complaints daily about an insufficient water supply. "Most of these complaints are lodged from the I-series sectors, I-9 and I-10, where the situation has taken a turn for the worse, he added.

Istanbul braces for water shortage

ISTANBUL // Millions of people in Istanbul, Turkey’s teeming metropolis, are bracing themselves for the possibility of severe water shortages this summer after a steep drop in rainfall in recent years led to a more than 50 per cent decline in water reserves.

According to the latest available figures from the Istanbul Water and Canalisation Administration, or ISKI, water levels in the city’s 10 reservoirs stood at 89.32 per cent capacity on June 2 2006. That level had fallen to 38.64 per cent on June 2 this year.

Spain cancels emergency scheme to bring water to Barcelona

MADRID (AFP) — The Spanish government said Friday it has cancelled a 180-million-euro (280-million-dollar) scheme to channel water from the river Ebro to the Barcelona region, after heavy rains eased drought fears.

Deputy premier Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said the government decided the scheme was "no longer necessary." [At least not this year. They had to have water shipped in this year. Wouldn't it be a good idea to have it on hand for the next drought?--Amanda]

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Ah, but at least one company gets it! Not so much a fan of Monsanto, but they are actually preparing for droughts and will probably make quite a bit of money in the process.

Monsanto sees growing water shortage issues ahead

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Monsanto Co (MON.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world leader in biotech crops, sees water shortages being a growing issue in the years ahead and expects its drought tolerant corn seed to play a role in easing pressure on this key resource, said Chief Executive Hugh Grant on Friday.

"We've been in an energy squeeze and a food squeeze, but I think the water one is going to be even more dramatic (and the) water one is coming," said Grant, in an interview with Reuters.